Multimedia devices such as VCRs, DVD players, MP3 players, cassette players, CD players, video tape editors, and the new class of Personal Video Recorders (PVR) are extremely popular with consumers. Almost every household in the United States has at least one of these devices.
The most common complaint (and joke) is that VCRs, in particular, are difficult to use and understand. This complaint is typical of the majority of multimedia devices.
One of the major areas that ease of use is lacking is in the program material progression indication. VCRs and DVD players commonly display the terms “FWD” for fast forward, “REV” for reverse, “PLAY” for play on the screen, telling the user that what mode he has selected. Other systems display their own set of terms or phrases to the user for each mode.
Additionally, the display of numeric counters are used by many manufacturers to tell the user the progression and position of the tape, CD, DVD, or MP3. For example, a four digit counter is displayed on the TV screen or dedicated display. The user can surmise what direction the media is progressing in by observing whether the counter is incrementing or decrementing.
The problem with these approaches are that multimedia equipment manufacturers do not use a consistent user interface. Terms, phrases, and counters are cryptic at best. Further, terms, phrases, and counters are not intuitive to the majority of the general public.
Menus used to guide users through options delivered by the multimedia devices are also confusing and cryptic. The often maligned VCR is a culprit of the confusing menu interface.
Setup menus are typically the extent of a VCR's menu interface. The menus are simplistic and text based. Cursor appearance and movement are rudimentary and the user is easily confused by the non-intuitive uses of menu choices.
DVD players have tried to use some of the power that the format offers. The menu systems are created by the DVD media content developer. The developers try to add a Hollywood flair to the menu layouts, but still fail at effectively communicating information to the user. It is often the case that a user will encounter a menu choice that leads nowhere or is unavailable.
It would be advantageous to provide a television viewer interface system that provides an intuitive, visually communicative user interface. It would further be advantageous to provide a system that allows the developers to create a visually pleasing menu system that is efficient, yet offers high resolution graphics.